


What I've Become

by Jayie_The_Hufflepuff



Category: Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Repo! The Genetic Opera (2008)
Genre: F/M, Gen
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2015-08-03
Updated: 2015-09-03
Packaged: 2018-04-12 17:33:11
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 3
Words: 8,235
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4488468
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Jayie_The_Hufflepuff/pseuds/Jayie_The_Hufflepuff
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>When an ancient evil throws Buffy and Giles into an entirely new world, they find themselves in a dystopia where anyone who's anyone is getting the latest GeneCo surgery. But the Repo Man is prowling the streets, ready to repossess the organs of anyone who can't pay their debts. Who is this mysterious figure, and what does he have to do with Rupert Giles? And how do Buffy and Giles get home before it's too late, and tragedy befalls them all? Between episodes two and three of Season Three for Buffy, during the movie for Repo! The Genetic Opera.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Prologue

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A ritual goes wrong.

What I've Become  
Prologue

     "And that has _what_ to do with me bailing on dinner to hold a couple of smelly sticks?”

     The Englishman pinched the bridge of his nose, brow furrowing in the familiar expression of exasperation. “They're not _smelly sticks_ , Buffy. It's incense.”

     A few feet away, the blond girl looked at the lighting smoking sticks held idly her hand, an eyebrow raised. “It smells like dead people,” she remarked, twirling one of the incense sticks experimentally, before adding thoughtfully. “And pine.” Buffy glanced down at the tweed-clad man, asking, “What am I supposed to do with it?”

     “Well, for now, just hold onto it. We'll need it in the center of the circle for the ritual.” The man was crouched against the grass and leaf-ridden floor of the Sunnydale Cemetery. He had cleared a space between the gravestones, clearing it free of clutter, and was now using what appeared to be bark dipped in some sort of ink or paint to draw a large circle. “Everything has to be right for the ritual.”

     “Yeah, remind me about what this whole ritual thing is again?”

     The man glanced at her briefly, saying, “I thought we already discussed this.”

     Buffy leaned back against a nearby gravestone, tipping her head as she recalled, “No, you discussed, I listened, and all I heard was 'blah blah, something ancient, blah blah, something ritual, blah, stuffy English Giles-ness, no you can't go to dinner, very important Slayer things.'” At his glare, she modified it to, “Well, you were kind of rushing me out of the door, I didn't catch everything.”

     Giles cast the Slayer a wry glance before turning back to his circle. He began tracing a large triangle to fit perfectly within the circle as he explained, “Almost twelve thousand years ago, a very powerful, very old demon named Alkazear was slain by an uprising of smaller demons who wanted his power and influence. He had his spine ripped out, all his internal organs removed and burned, and his tongue sliced in half – and that was before they killed him.”

     “Bad day for Alkazear?” Buffy guessed, wrinkling her nose in disgust.

     “Erm, quite,” Giles agreed, looking nauseated himself. “Either way, the ritual these demons used to kill Alkazear destroyed him as utterly as the demons could manage, but some of Alkazear's spiritual essence remained. Every thousand years, on the anniversary of Alkazear's death, that essence rises and becomes more powerful, creating almost a black hole of energy.”

     The Slayer guessed, “And that hole does something sucky and dark magic-y the world goes poof?”

     Giles gave a grim nod of confirmation. The triangle completed, he had moved on to drawing strange symbols within the circle, leaving the inside of the triangle empty. “Fortunately, there's a ritual to contain the essence, and send the demon's spirit away for another thousand years.”

     Buffy sighed, leaning back against the gravestone as she added, “And I get to miss Mom's meatloaf. Fun.”

     Her Watcher finally looked up from his painted circle, giving Buffy a concerned glance. “Why the sudden concern over missing dinner?” he asked. “You're not usually so insistent upon being on time to the table.”

     Buffy shrugged, crossing her arms over her chest. “I dunno. I've only been back a few days, and Mom's still kind of hovering, so I just want to assure her that everything's still totally normal, you know?”

     “Buffy, things will never be 'totally normal,'” Giles reminded her gently. “You're the Slayer. And now that Joyce knows this, she's going to have to get used to the demands this job puts upon your life.”

     She sighed. “I guess. I just want to be nice to her for now, you know, after everything I put her through.” She glanced back down, twirling the incense absent-mindedly in one hand.

     The last few days had taken a toll on her mother. After returning from LA, and the resulting fight at the party, her mother was starting to come around to the whole Slayer thing, but she was still very uncertain about the whole thing. She was concerned for Buffy's well-being because of her job as the Slayer, she was still reeling from the revelation of it, and from Buffy's return. All in all, she'd really been put through the wringer recently, and she very much wanted to make her mother feel reassured about the whole thing.

     Her friends were still recovering as well. Her relationship with Willow was slowly mending, and Xander seemed to have finally forgiven her for leaving. It was hard, mending all the bridges she'd burned when she'd left. But from the very start, Giles had shown nothing but absolute relief and joy at her return. Buffy was more glad than she could say that her Watcher was there to support her. He had always been there for her, more than her own father even had. And after everything she'd been through, she was going to need that support.

     Giles stood, dusting himself off. “There, I think that should do it. All we need now is… this.” He pulled a dish of some kind from the bag he’d brought with him. Giles set the dish in the center of the triangle, then turned to Buffy, holding his hand out. The Slayer wordlessly handed him the incense.

     He laid the incense aside, then returned to rummaging in his bag, pulling out an assortment of items that drew a raised eyebrow from Buffy. “Is that a tongue?” she asked, hoping to God that the weird pinkish-brown lump that Giles had drawn from his rucksack wasn’t what she thought it was.

     Her Watcher looked rather disgusted himself. “Tongue of a Kungai, antler cutting of a Chaos demon, tooth of a Lei-Ach… a piece of every kind of demon that slew Alkazear.”

     Finally, the dish was filled, and the ritual was ready to begin. Giles laid the incense sticks one by one into the dish, speaking in an ancient language that Buffy didn’t recognize. Finally, he stepped back, staring expectantly at the circle.

     Buffy tipped her head, glancing back at Giles. “That was anti-climatic.”

     Giles was still staring at the circle, brow crinkled in confusion. “I-I don’t understand, it should have done something.”

     The girl rose from the gravestone, slowly uncrossing her arms. “You think something’s up?” she asked warily. The Slayer in her was rising, her senses on high alert.

     “Could be.” Giles was wary now as well, slowly crouching to inspect the circle. “I brought everything the spell specified. I don’t know what I could have missed-”

     He was cut off by a sudden rumbling. Buffy tensed, immediately on alert. The air itself seemed to crackle with energy, sparks zapping through the air. As the Watcher and Slayer watched, the very air seemed to tear open in front of them, revealing a portal spilling out light and energy. There seemed to be some kind of pull from the portal, tugging on Buffy and Giles. Wind began to rush past them, leaves being thrown up all around them.

     Buffy’s eyes flew open wide. “Run!” She lunged for Giles, trying to push him from harm’s way, but it was too late. The pull from the portal grew and grew, until Buffy and Giles were pulled off their feet, sucked within the portal. It continued pulling and pulling, leaves spiraling all around, until the portal snapped shut, everything falling into a sudden hush. The graveyard was just as it had been left, only the Slayer and Watcher were nowhere to be seen.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> *Sigh* When will I learn to stop starting new fanfics when I should be focusing on my main ones?
> 
> Anyway, this is gonna hopefully be a quick one, I only have nine chapters planned out in total (not counting the prologue), we'll see if I can keep it contained to that.
> 
> So, my cousin showed me "Repo! The Genetic Opera" for the first time the other day, and I totally fell in love with this movie, I'm completely obsessed with the music. But since Anthony Stewart Head plays the lead in Repo, I got to thinking about crossovers with Buffy, and this idea just wouldn't leave me alone, so now I'm writing it. Also, I was appalled by the utter shortage of Repo! crossovers, especially with Buffy, so I felt obligated to write this.
> 
> I'll try to post more soon.
> 
> Rating may change in later chapters due to violence. It is Repo, after all.


	2. Chapter One: To Meet a Repo Man

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Buffy and Giles try to figure out their new surroundings.

What I've Become  
Chapter One: To Meet a Repo Man

     “Ugh...” Buffy stumbled, barely conscious. She found herself against a wall, sinking gratefully against the solid surface as she struggled to stay on her feet. Her whole body felt sort of sloshy, like it could collapse under her any moment, and she'd fall apart to nothing but a gooey Slayer pile. The only thing that felt solid was the wall, so she fought to keep herself propped against it as she regained her bearings.

     Slowly, the dizziness and nausea began to fade, and Buffy's vision began to clear. The blur of lights and color around her started to clear into comprehensive shapes. She saw that she was in some kind of alleyway; the dirty stone pavement was lit by several glowing signs plastered all over the walls surrounding the alley. The whole area had a very grungy look.

     Buffy shook her head, trying to clear it. As she did, she heard a nearby groan that instantly made her more alert. “Giles!” She reluctantly turned away from the wall to see Giles splayed out on the group, shifting groggily and trying to raise his head. The Slayer pushed away from the wall, making her less-than-graceful way over to her Watcher. “Giles, you alright?” she asked quietly, crouching beside him.

     The Watcher groaned again. He was slumped awkwardly onto one side, and had to fight to shift himself onto his back. Once there, he lay still for a few moments, one leg bent up and his hands clutching the pavement as he tried to fight the nausea. “I'm alive,” he observed wryly, wincing as though the effort of speaking had pained him. After a few more moments of recovery, his gaze began to flit side to side. “Erm, what happened?” he questioned.

     “I'm not sure,” Buffy admitted. As her head began to clear, she struggled to remember how they'd ended up where they were. Slowly, she recalled, “We were in the graveyard... with the ritual.”

     Giles's eyes lit up with recognition. “Alkazear,” he breathed. “The ritual. It failed, and the portal was summoned.”

     “And we ended up... here, for some reason,” Buffy finished. She glanced back at the grungy alleyway, an eyebrow raised. “I thought you said this Alkazear guy was all death and destruction and doom,” she said. “Why'd his energy portal thing send us here instead of killing us?”

     Giles finally managed to rise to a sitting position. He cringed at the effort, leaning against his knee with his head lowered. “I'm not sure,” Giles admitted. “All the texts I've read point to his return as the destruction of the world. Why it would simply transport us to... oh.” He seemed to have finally noticed their less-than-ideal location. “Where exactly are we?”

     Buffy shrugged. “Beats me.” She glanced over her shoulder, taking a better look at her surroundings. It was night, but the various signs, and a few dingy streetlamps cast a sickly light onto the alley. She saw a few advertisements bearing the logo of a company called GeneCo, as well as a large poster bearing a woman who appeared to be singing. Over the singer were the words “Blind Mag's Final Performance” in large, bolded letters.

     The more she saw of this place, she more uneasy the Slayer began to feel. “Wherever we are, it's definitely not Sunnydale,” she said. She let out an exasperated puff of air. “Which probably means it's going to take forever to get back home. Joy. As if Mom wasn't already freaked out by the whole slaying the forces of darkness thing, and now it's going to take forever to find a way back to Sunnydale.”

     “Buffy, I think this is a little more serious than scrounging up enough change for bus fare back to Sunnydale,” Giles pointed out firmly. The Watcher still looked pale, but he lifted his head, telling Buffy, “We could be absolutely anywhere, and Alkazear is still out there.” He began to try and pull himself up onto his knees, but sank back down with a groan. “We're vulnerable here,” he explained, teeth clenched with pain. “We have to move. Maybe we can find some answers if we get somewhere more populated.”

     Buffy nodded, agreeing easily, “I'm all for leaving the creepy alley. I just hope the rest of this place is any better.” She rose easily to her feet, almost entirely recovered from being tossed through the portal. But when Giles tried to stand, he only managed to stumble back onto his hands, wobbling uneasily. Buffy rolled her eyes, then crouched beside Giles, pulling his arm over her shoulders and supporting his torso with her weight, pulling him up onto his feet.

     Reluctantly, the Watcher allowed himself to be led down the alley by Buffy. “Whatever brought us here, it feels rather like a terrible migraine,” Giles grumbled.

     “At first maybe,” Buffy said breezily. “I feel fine now.” She teased her Watcher, “I guess it's takes longer once you get older.”

     “Or it has something to do with the fact that you've got a Slayer's strength and healing,” Giles replied testily. Buffy figured the return of her Watcher's snark meant he was heading towards recovery.

     She just grinned, despite the grim situation. “Whatever you say.” Together, they made their way out of the alley, and out into the main streets of the city.

     It was immediately clear that this wasn't any city of their own world. The various billboards and signs were far too high-tech, broadcasting holograms and showing various ads for new technology. On many of the billboards, Buffy saw the woman from the poster, Blind Mag. While she sang, her voice overlapped her song, announcing, _“Hello, I'm Blind Mag, the voice of GeneCo.”_ Whatever else she was saying was lost under the noises of the crowded streets, and the various other ads.

     If the setting itself wasn't weird enough, even stranger were the inhabitants. Every person on the street seemed inhuman, somehow. They were either too perfect in appearance, too strange, or too disfigured. Everywhere Buffy looked, she saw hair of various wild colors, eyes that flashed with a strange, metallic light, grungy clothing, unrealistic proportions and features.

     Giles let out a low, "Dear god," beside her. Buffy had to agree - she'd seen the wild, rebellious teen look before. But here, _everyone_ seemed to be wearing it, and to truly ridiculous extents.

     Slowly, Buffy helped Giles out onto the sidewalk, moving through the crowd. The Watcher was mostly able to stand on his own now, allowing Buffy to look around a little better. She glanced around warily, before finally spotting what appeared to be a newspaper vendor, stuffed between various other ships and stalls.

     She steered Giles in the direction of the vendor. When they reached him, Buffy asked, "Excuse me, how much for one of those?"

      The vendor, who bore many colored streaks in his spiked hair, gave a price. She passed him the money, and he handed her a newspaper. Buffy briefly scanned the headlines. "Huh. New York City. Whatever that Alkazear, he's got some serious juice - he put us on the other side of the continent."

     However, something else seemed to have caught Giles' eye. He took the paper from her, staring at it in shock. "Buffy, look at this date."

      Buffy glanced at it, only to blink in shock. The paper was dated two days ago. She glanced back at the vendor, asking, "This is today's paper, right?"

      "'Course," the vendor replied.

     Buffy tried not to look too shocked. "Right. Thanks." She and Giles began walking away, back into the crowd. Buffy's head was spinning a little as she tried to reason out what this meant. "So... so what, we've time and space traveled?" she asked slowly. "That Alkazear guy thought it would be fun to toss us into a different city on a different day?"

     Giles shook his head slowly. “It's more than just different day and city, Buffy,” he said gravely. “I don't know when your last trip to New York was, but I think we can safely assume this is not the New York City of our own world.”

     Buffy glanced back at the signs for GeneCo, her spirit beginning to sink. She had a feeling her Watcher was right. “So, what are we thinking?” she asked, clasping her hands behind her back. “Some crazy demon dimension?”

     “Not necessarily,” Giles told her. “It could simply be a parallel universe. A world almost exactly identical to our own, but with changes.”

     “Like everyone looking like they just got out of a goth concert?” Buffy quipped.

     Giles inclined his head. “Erm, yes, difference in fashion styles could be one difference, and the look of the city another. Either way, I think it's safe to assume we're not in our own universe.”

     Buffy took a moment to take that in. “Alright. So, big powerful demon guy who was killed thousands of years ago has one night a year to exact his revenge and bring doom and gloom to the world, and instead he takes two people and tosses them into a parallel dimension. Why, exactly?”

     Giles stammered for an answer, adjusting his glasses. "I'm not sure," he admitted. "It doesn't make sense." He paused, expression turning thoughtful. "Although, perhaps this will work in our favor."

     "How?" Buffy asked dubiously.

     “It's two days before we were taken by the portal,” Giles repeated. “Two days before Alkazear's return.”

     Buffy's eyes widened as she realized what the librarian was hinting at. “Alkazear hasn't returned yet,” she realized. “We can still stop him from coming back.”

     “And, if we're lucky, we can ride the portal back to our own dimension,” Giles concluded.

     The Slayer tipped her head, questioning, “Wouldn't the portal open up in Sunnydale? How are we going to get there in time for the portal to take us back?”

     Giles shook his head. “Not exactly. With the right spell, I can summon Alkazear's essence to us. We can bring the portal here, ride it home, then complete the ritual in our own universe and stop Alkazear's return. I just need to find the right materials for the spell.”

     They had been strolling down the various streets of the city as they spoke. Their walk had taken them away from the crowds, and back into the dimly-lit, secluded side-streets. The street was deserted, besides a few figures slinking in the shadows, or slumping against the walls. Buffy kept a wary eye around them; she didn't like the look of some of the characters hanging around.

     “We'll need somewhere secluded to summon-”

     Without warning, Giles was cut off by a nearby scream. Buffy and Giles both froze, instantly on high alert. The scream had been one of utter terror and desperation. But they seemed to be the only ones who had noticed; the others in the alleyway either ignored the scream completely, or glanced away, as though uncomfortable.

     Buffy didn't give herself time to question their reactions. She took off, bolting down the alley as fast as she could push herself, Giles right on her heels. The screaming was closer now, and more distinct. “Let me in! Someone, help me!” There was a thumping noise, as if the screaming woman was banging on doors, trying to find refuge. As they ran, Giles managed to pull a stake from his rucksack – he passed it to Buffy, who kept it in a firm grip in one hand.

     The Slayer and Watcher rounded a corner, and promptly collided with a young woman running right into them. She nearly knocked them over with the sheer speed that she'd been fleeing, but Buffy managed to keep Giles from toppling over, while Giles reached out to steady the woman. They managed to right themselves, but the woman was utterly hysterical. She clung to Giles, blubbering desperately. Buffy kept a wary eye out for whatever the woman had been fleeing as Giles attempted to calm her. “Slow down,” he said, gently grabbing hold of her arms to try and still her. “What's wrong? Are you hurt?”

     She was inconsolable, shaking and blubbering as she gasped, “I promise, I didn't mean to fall behind! He's gonna kill me!”

     “Who's going to kill you?” Buffy asked carefully.

     The woman started to answer, only to freeze in absolute horror, her gaze drawn to something behind Buffy and Giles. “By him,” she breathed. “The Repo Man.”

     Buffy turned to look. There, in the sickly light of the streetlamps, stood a figure. He was cloaked in black leather from head to toe, wearing a long, lab-like coat. His face was obscured by a black helmet, also leather. The only point of color was his visor, which glowed with a blue light. Buffy stiffened at the sight – the way the man held himself, she could tell he had come for a fight, and that he was dangerous.

     The Repo Man tensed when he saw her, head tilting just slightly, as though assessing the new threat. The woman was clinging to Giles, curling against him in utter terror. He was turned away, consoling her, as Buffy stared down the Repo Man. She felt a chill as she noticed the glint of a knife in his hand.

     “Giles,” she said in a low voice, not taking her eyes off the Repo Man. “Get her out of here. Now.” She took a step towards the Repo Man, positioning herself in front of Giles and the woman.

     Her Watcher hesitated, then gave a nod of consent. “Be careful,” he murmured. He took a step to usher the woman away.

     Immediately, the Repo Man lunged. He ran straight for Giles and the woman, but Buffy was there first. She blocked the wild swing of his knife with one arm, giving him a quick jab with her knee in his exposed side. “Go!” she ordered, dodging as the Repo Man tried to strike at her head. Giles and the woman ran, disappearing down a side alley.

     That left Buffy alone with the Repo Man. He tried again to pursue the woman, but Buffy shoved him away, pushing the larger man clear with ease. She gripped the stake tighter in her hand, raising it just enough for him to see. He tilted his head at the sight of it, seeming confused. “You know,” she commented casually, taking a step towards the Repo Man, “I get the feeling you're not gonna poof into dust if I stab you in the chest with this.” He stayed still a moment, watching her warily. Buffy could just barely see his eyes through the blue glow of the visor – they held an utterly cold gleam. She added, “But I'm pretty sure it'd hurt like hell. And I've had a hell of a day, so I'm really not in the mood for a long, drawn-out fight.” Her voice hardened as she threatened, “Whatever your beef is with that girl, drop it, before I drop you.”

     A low, rasping voice emitted from the masked man. “This is a legal repossession,” the Repo Man hissed. He stepped towards her, but she raised her stake threateningly, so he paused. “Get out of my way, or you'll die as well.”

     “Call it whatever the hell you like,” Buffy said, “Legal or not, I'm not letting you kill her.”

     Something in the man's eyes seemed to light up with a cruel delight. “Very well.”

     He exploded with movement, lunging for her with a frightening speed. Buffy only just had time to dodge a heavy blow that came for her head. She swung out of range, spinning back with a high kick that connection with his chin, sending his head reeling back. The Repo Man recovered quickly, driving his elbow hard into her chest.

     It quickly became clear that, while Buffy was the stronger of the two, the Repo Man fought with a brutal strength, the professional timing of his strikes offset by sheer rage and determination. He wasn't wasting any time trying to wound her or wear her out - he was going straight for the kill. His knife barely missed her throat, instead grazing against her shoulder as she twisted away. She felt a blaze of satisfaction as her stake sliced at his side, ripping through the leather. Blood welled from the wound.

     The Repo Man reeled back, one arm wrapped around him as his hand grasped over the wound. He glared at her, a furious light in his eyes, but he hesitated to attack again. Buffy grinned, crouching into a fighting stance, with her stake raised. "Ready for another round?" she taunted.

     He continued to glare, his grip tightening around his knife. The Repo Man took a step towards her, as if ready to attack, only to pause. Buffy heard footsteps behind her. She stiffened, only to recognize Giles rushing to her side, panting, "She's safe."

     The Repo Man stumbled back a step, as though thrown off balance. He seemed to stare uncertainly between Buffy and Giles for a moment. Then, without warning, he turned and ran. Buffy watched his retreating form with bewilderment. _What was that about?_

     When he was gone, Giles relaxed, turning his attention to Buffy. "Are you alright?" he asked.

     "Yeah," Buffy answered distractedly. She hadn't taken her gaze off where the Repo Man had fled. Aloud, she wondered, "Did that seem weird to you?"

     "What do you mean?"

     Buffy explained, "He was going to attack me again, but one look at you and he's running for the hills? It's just weird."

     Giles shrugged. "Maybe he figured he didn't want to take on two people at once."

     Personally, Buffy didn't think the vicious creature she'd just fought would be much deterred by the arrival of the tweed-clad, stuffy Englishman into the fight. But with nothing else to go on, she could only guess what the Repo Man's motives were.

     She turned away, facing Giles with a determined air. "I want to know what's going on in this world, and I want to know now," she said firmly. "Our best bet at getting answers is that woman. Where'd you take her?"

     "This way," Giles said, starting down the alley. Buffy followed after. "She said she knew the place was safe, and deserted."

     "Good." Buffy said grimly. "Because she's going to give us some answers."

**SCENEBREAK**

     The Repo Man watched from the shadows as the young woman and the man left the alley. He had no idea who they were, or how they had come to be in his world. But what he did know was that they were a problem.

     The girl was strong, impossibly strong, and the stake she had carried... he would have to check a few things, find some answers. And the man with her, his face. It had been impossible. But he knew what he'd seen. He just had to find out why.

     The Repo Man slipped back into the shadows, retreating into the darkness he'd adopted. Something in his world had changed, and if necessary, he would defend what he had the only way he knew - through blood.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ugh, not totally happy with this chapter, but whatever, it's finished. I can't write fight scenes. -_-
> 
> Anyway, I forget whatever I was going to say here.
> 
> Oh, yeah, I made Repo happen during the same year/days that Buffy did. It makes the whole Alkazear thing easier to deal with.
> 
> I'll try to update soon.


	3. Chapter Two: Repossession

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Buffy and Giles go to find some answers.

What I've Become  
Chapter Two: Repossession

     It didn't take Buffy and Giles long to reach the woman's hideout. It was in another dark alleyway, down a grungy set of stairs to a sub-basement of some kind. A knock on the door resulted in only silence. Buffy shared an uneasy glance with Giles, then turned to the door, calling out, "It's us. The man chasing you is gone."

     Silence again. Then, a small voice from within. "He's gone? You're sure?" There was a soft creaking from within, muffled footsteps, as if the woman was approaching the door. But even as she drew nearer to it, the door remained closed to them.

     "We're sure," Giles told her. Buffy was a few back, keeping an eye on the alley behind them. Despite the a Repo Man's unexplained retreat, she knew he could be back any moment. The small slice from her stake wasn't likely to slow him down much. "Ma'am, please, let us in. We want to help you, but you have to trust us."

     There was a brief pause, then muffled clinking and clanging, as if bolts were being drawn back and chains pulled back. Finally, there was the final click of the door unlocking, and the door was opened a crack, revealing the woman's face. "Come in, quickly," she hissed. She drew back, allowing Giles and Buffy to hurry in.

     The second they went through the door, she slammed it shut behind them. Buffy blinked in surprise at the sheer number of bolts, locks, and chains that the door bore; the woman moved with a frenzied speed to lock and close them all before she finally relaxed enough to turn back to her visitors.

     Buffy hadn't got a very good look at the woman before, with the rush to get her to safety. Now, she could see that she was a bit taller than Buffy, and a bit older, maybe mid twenties, with darker skin. Her hair was a bright orange that faded to red, skillfully dyed, clipped short on one half of her head and hanging longer on the other. She wore a brown leather jacket with studded shoulders and a ragged shirt beneath, and dark jeans. Overall, with her outfit and dark lipstick and eyeliner, she resembled the rest of the goth-dressing population of this world.

     Her dark eyes still seemed wary as she glanced between Giles and Buffy. "I've never seen anyone try to fight the Repo Man," she murmured. "Not like that."

     "We couldn't just let him kill you," Buffy said with a shrug.

     The woman honestly seemed confused. "Why not?" she asked. "Anyone else would have."

     Giles and Buffy shared a baffled glance. Apathy against violence was definitely prevalent in her own world, but for an entire city to sit back and do nothing while someone was brutally hunted down and murdered? Buffy recalled the few people in the alley when they'd heard the woman scream - they had looked uncomfortable, but they'd done nothing to save her. And the Repo Man had said something about a legal repossession. _What kind of world have I landed in?_ Buffy wondered with growing unease.

     Aloud, she asked the woman, "Why would they do that?"

     The woman looked at her oddly. "Isn't it obvious?" she asked warily.

     Buffy felt a brush of frustration. She went to ask again, but Giles beat her to it. He approached the woman, speaking in a comforting tone. "Buffy and I are from out of town," he explained. "We don't exactly understand how everything works here." When the woman hesitated again, he decided to start small. "I'm sorry, I've quite forgotten to ask. What's your name?"

     The woman hesitated once more, gaze flitting fearfully between her two saviors, before she finally murmured, "Rena Stewart."

     "Nice to meet you, Rena," Giles greeted pleasantly. "My name is Rupert Giles, and this is Buffy Summers." Buffy gave a quick smile of greeting to Rena. Giles continued, "Now, like I said, we aren't from around here. It would be very helpful if you could explain to us who that Repo Man was, and why he was after you."

     Rena still seemed wary. She crossed her arms over her chest, seeming to collect herself before speaking. "You must be from pretty far if you haven't heard of the Repo Man," she said.

     "Fairly far," Giles said lightly.

     Buffy took a step towards Rena, trying to keep her tone comforting. "Rena, I know that you've had a big shock tonight. I understand why you don't trust us. But I promise you that we only want to help. We can protect you, but that Repo Man won't be gone forever. He'll come back for you, and the only way we can protect you is if you tell us who he is and why he wants to kill you."

     After several moments, the tense set to Rena's shoulders loosened, and she gave a small nod. "Alright." she said softly. "Come on, it's a long story, we might as well get comfortable."

     Slowly, she turned away and led them further into the room. Buffy had mainly been focusing on Rena, but now she had a chance to look more at her surroundings. The room was small and dingy, a small, flickering lightbulb hanging from a string the only source of light. There was a counter on the side wall with a sink and a washer and dryer, and a fridge a few paces away. The center of the room held a table, surrounded by a beat-up old couch and some chairs. It almost looked like an old basement converted into a living area.

     Rena sat on one of the chairs, and Giles and Buffy settled into the couch across from her. After a moment, Rena began. "Well, I can't really answer your question," she apologized. "No one knows who the Repo Man really is. All anyone knows is that he works for GeneCo, and if you fall behind on your payments, he comes for you."

     There was already so much with that statement that Buffy didn't know what to do with, but she decided to start with the most obvious question. "What's GeneCo?"

     That definitely earned a baffled look from Rena. "Only the most powerful company in the country," she said slowly, as though it should have been obvious. "They pretty much run everything around here."

     "What exactly is it GeneCo does?" Giles asked.

     "Surgery," Rena answered. "When the organ failure epidemic hit in the 70's, GeneCo were the ones who swooped in to save the day with their affordable organ financing. Now they mostly do cosmetic surgery. The marketing for it is huge - everyone has to have the latest GeneCo surgery."

     Buffy remembered the inhuman appearance of all the people in this world. "What kind of surgery?" she asked.

       "All kinds. Designer organs, corneas that let you digitally record memories, age lifts, race changes, you name it. If you want it, GeneCo's got it, and all affordable under their organ financing."

     Giles's brow was furrowed, as though he were troubled. He pointed, "That sounds a little too perfect."

     Rena inclined her head towards him, agreeing, "Yep. They've made surgery affordable by letting you pay in increments, but the interest tends to build up. And with the way they'd made surgery the big fashion statement of the century, people keep signing up for surgeries even when they haven't paid off the old ones.”

     Buffy had a feeling she wasn't going to like the answer, but she had to ask. “What happens to the people who can't pay off their debts?”

     “Legal repossession,” Rena answered grimly. “GeneCo managed to pass a bill through congress – the legalization of organ repossession. If you can't pay off your organ debts with money, GeneCo will send in a Repo Man to legally repossess GeneCo's property.”

     The Slayer felt sick to her stomach. She got this kind of vicious, gory violence from demons all the time, but for humans to pass that kind of law, for them to stand back and watch their own kind be murdered... “By property, you mean their organs,” she stated, her tone dulled by shock.

     Rena nodded. “Yes,” she told her, the fearful glaze returning to her eyes. “Lungs, liver, spine, brain, whatever you got from GeneCo, they have the right to take it back, plus interest. If your heart has GeneCo's brand mark on it, the Repo Man will slice you open and pull it still beating from your chest.” Buffy could see Rena was shaking as she spoke. The night's narrow escape was clearly still effecting her, and talking about her near-killer wasn't helping.

     Buffy leaned back against the couch, still reeling from what Rena had told them. A world where murder of the innocent was not only legal, but accepted as a common part of life. Men and women hunted down in the streets, for the only crime of not paying a bill on time. Buffy was used to a world of monsters and demons, creatures who ate the hearts of virgins, or dissolved people into puddles of blood, or who turned their victims inside out. But somehow, none of that disturbed her as much as a world where the humans were as vile and merciless as the forces of darkness she'd been taught to hate and kill. When she'd gotten back into the game after LA, this was not what she had wanted to come back to. This was a new kind of evil, and one she wasn't sure she was ready to deal with.

     While she was trying to rationalize what Rena had just told her, a knock at the door shocked her out of her thoughts. She stiffened immediately, hand reaching for her stake. Beside her, Giles also tensed, gaze darkening as he stared at the door. There was a pause, then a short series of rhythmic knocks. Buffy's hand closed around her stake as she rose, ready to confront whoever was on the other side of that door. Giles rose too, warning Rena in a low voice, “Stay back, let us take a look.”

     To Buffy's surprise, however, Rena seemed to brighten when she heard the knock. She pushed past the battle-ready Slayer and Watcher, reaching the door and pulling back all the bolts and chains. “Whart are you doing?” Buffy hissed, hurrying to her side. She kept a wary eye on the door, making a move to block Rena from the door.

     Rena pushed Buffy's hand away dismissively, reaching back out to pull the last chain off the door. “Me and a couple friends found this place, and we stocked it up in case any of us had to dodge the Rep Man until we could find a way out of town,” she explained. “We're the only ones who know that knock.” She slid a key into the lock, twisted it until it clicked, then pulled the door open.

     The door was only open for a moment; the knocker slipped inside quickly, pulling the door closed behind him in an instant. He pulled a few of the bolts shut behind him, then turned to Rena, looking her up and down with an air of relief. “You're alright?” he asked, as though he didn't believe it.

     Rena nodded, grinning for the first time since Buffy had met her. It seemed the triumph of her own survival was finally setting in. “I'm fine, honestly,” she promised the newcomer. He stared at her in disbelief for a moment, then reached out and pulled her into a quick hug. Rena was laughing now, sheer relief taking over as she hugged the man back. They pulled back after a moment, both grinning. Buffy watched the exchange warily. She had only just met the man, but something about him struck her as off.

     The man's expression soon became an almost detached smirk – Buffy had the feeling this was his more natural expression, rather than the relief and affection he'd shown Rena. “Well, I gotta say I'm impressed,” he commented, eyebrow raised. “I don't think anyone's survived the Repo Man this long. I think you might've set a new record.” There was a tinge of bitterness to his tone, even in his genuine relief.

     “If it'd just been me, I wouldn't have made it,” Rena told him. She turned towards Buffy, wrapping an arm around her friend's waist as she told him, “This is Buffy, and that's Giles over there. They saved my life.”

     The man turned to look at Buffy. He wore a leather coat like Rena's, but far grungier, with faux fur on the shoulders, as well as finger-less leather gloves, and a long, thing, raggedy blue scarf of some kind. His brown hair fell well past his shoulder, with streaks of blue and red. He gave a crooked grin, something mysterious, and almost sinister about it. “Well, I guess I should thank -”

     Buffy didn't give him a chance to finish. She exploded into movement, grabbing him by the lapels of his jacket, slamming him against the wall. Rena gasped, and the man started to thrash, as though trying to push her away. But Buffy already had her stake his his chest, her other hand pressing his throat against the wall. “Make another move, and you're dust,” she growled.

     He glared at her, the vaguely sinister light to his eyes now a blazing, menacing anger. In any other world, his outfit would've given away on the spot. Here, it was practically of the norm. But while the wardrobe was a red flag, that wasn't what had set Buffy off. His face was pale, too pale, his darkened lips and eyelids not helping the picture. And when his eyes had met hers, she had known.

     “What the hell are you doing?” Rena demanded. She tried to tear Buffy off of her friend, but Giles pulled her off, herding her away from the Slayer and her prey. Rena struggled to pull free, blustering, “Let me go! Get off him, he's a friend!”

     “He's not your friend,” Buffy said darkly. Her deadly glare was locked with the man's angry gaze – she didn't look away for an instant. “Whoever he was before, that person is gone.”

     Rena stopped struggling long enough to look baffled. “What the hell are you talking about?”

     Giles tried to shepherd her away, telling her, “Your friend is a danger to you, Rena. Come, you're not safe here.”

     “The hell he is!” Rena growled. She tried to pull free of Giles, but the smaller woman couldn't wrestle free of the Watcher's grasp. “Let Graverobber go!”

     Buffy's eyes widened. “Graverobber?” she repeated with disbelief. It was all she could do not to laugh. “Your name is seriously Graverobber?” she questioned the man in front of her. It couldn't be a more conspicuous and pretentious title if it tried.

     He shrugged as well as he could with the Slayer pinning him to the wall. “It works as well as any,” he quipped. Now that his initial anger had faded, he seemed oddly unconcerned about the stake held against his heart. He'd regained that smug, mysterious ease he'd had earlier. “I thought I smelled a Slayer,” he said with the same strange smirk of his. As Buffy watched, Graverobber's face began to morph. His brow became more pronounced, wrinkling into a permanent furrow, while his eyes went from dark to a deep, glowing amber. Buffy watched the change without expression, only pressing her stake harder against the vampire's chest. “Well,” he said in a purr, his fangs visible as he flashed a grin. “This is an interesting turn.”

     “Really?” Buffy asked, allowing herself a half-amused smirk. “Can't say I was that surprised. The whole pale-skin, grunge look you've got going on really gives you away. And... come on, your name is _Graverobber._ You might as well have slapped a sign on your forehead saying 'I'm a vampire.'” She pressed her stake harder against his chest, admonishing, “You're gonna need to try a little harder to fool a Slayer.”

     “Oh, for god's sake.” To Buffy's shock, Rena had pulled free of Giles, and before she could drive her stake through the vampire's chest, Rena had pushed between them. Buffy tried to shove her away, trying to get to the vampire, but Rena pushed hard against her chest, sending the Slayer staggering back a few steps. By the time she'd regained her footing enough to attack again, Rena was standing between Buffy and the vampire. She was turned towards Buffy, her back to the vampire, as she raised her arms in a beseeching sign to stay back. “Leave him alone,” she said calmly.

     Buffy stiffened, waiting for the vampire to take advantage of Rena's turned back. Her short hair and jacket left her neck totally exposed. It was right there – all the vampire had to do was reach out, and Buffy wouldn't be able to reach him in time to stop him. But to her shock, he stayed where he was. He seemed less concerned with Rena, and was instead watching Buffy. His expression seemed a touch wary, but mostly calm, just watching to see what she would do.

     The Slayer wavered. All she wanted was to attack – attacking a vampire was pure instinct at this point. But Rena was in her way, and she couldn't risk the human getting hurt. Reluctantly, she lowered her stake, taking a half-step back. “Rena, step away from him,” she ordered in a low voice.

     “Why? Because he's a vampire?” Buffy's eyes widened in shock. Rena seemed almost amused at the Slayer's surprise. She smirked, lowering her arms as she told Buffy, “Yeah, I know what he is. I'm one of the few he's told.” Rena glanced back at the vampire, joking, “I guess that makes me special or something.”

     Graverobber smirked, replying dryly, “You didn't give me a whole lot of choice. It was either tell you why you'd stumbled over me feeding on a corpse, or kill you, and I thought that would be a bit of a shame.”

     Rena chuckled. “Oh, is that all? Just a shame?” She gave his shoulder a light punch, joking, “It's a wonder I keep you around.”

     Buffy watched their interaction with utter confusion. It was clear that Rena knew exactly what her vampire friend was, but she seemed completely at ease with him, treating him as a good friend rather than the demonic hellspawn he was.

     Uncertain, she took a half-step back, trying to rationalize the scene in front of her. She had allied with vampires in the past, through necessity, but this seemed to be more than that. Rena seemed to have somehow earned the vampire's legitimate friendship. Vampires were creatures without souls, incapable of caring for anyone – except for one. The only one who'd been different, the only vampire she had ever cared about, and had ever cared about her. What she'd had to do to him.

      _Stop it._ She gave a brisk shake of her head, pushing those thoughts as far away as possible. _That's in the past, leave it there._ The Slayer banished her painful memories to the back of her mind, forcing her thoughts to return to the vampire and human in front of her.

     Logically, she knew it was possible for a vampire to regain its soul. That was the only explanation that she knew of for a vampire capable of compassion. But of all the vamps she'd slain, she'd only even known one who'd been given his soul back, and it had taken a very specific spell that had long been forgotten about. The likelihood of the vampire in front of her having his soul was one in a million.

     Aloud, she told the vampire and human, “Listen, I've had a really long day, and I'm not in the mood for screwing around. So far, I've got no proof that you're not the same soulless blood-sucker as the rest of them.” She took a threatening step towards him, saying in a firm tone, “So step away from the girl.”

     “Buffy, slow down.” That was Giles. He had followed Rena over to the Slayer and vampire, and was standing a few paces away now, looking warily between all of them. “Let's hear them out.” When Buffy threw him a surprised glare, he pointed out, “Rena seems to trust him.”

     “Oh, one human trusts a vampire, hooray,” Buffy snarked. “Give the vamp a prize, he must be a saint if one person decided to like him.” At Giles' unamused glare, she softened her tone. “I'm not saying it's _impossible_ for a vampire to be good, but I'm gonna need a lot more than one person's word before I let a vamp roam loose.”

     Giles replied calmly, “I didn't suggest to simply let him go. But let's think the situation through before jump straight to slaying.” When Buffy continued to look uncertain, he crossed over to her, coming to stand at his Slayer's side. In a low murmur only she could hear, he told her, “I know how it ended last time you trusted a vampire.” Buffy stiffened at the blatant reference to her past, feeling a sharp jab of pain with the memories it brought. _No, you don't know,_ she thought darkly. But she forced the memories away once again, focusing instead on her Watcher as he spoke again. “Just give them a chance to explain.”

     The Watcher was speaking low enough only for the Slayer to hear, but he kept his gaze up, keeping an eye on Rena and Graverobber. The Watcher was advocating for a cease-fire between the Slayer and vampire, but he wasn't stupid. “Rena trusts him. We don't know anyone else here, and I fear we've made a rather bad enemy of the Repo Man, and this GeneCo who employs him. Rena is the only ally we've found so far, and it would be dangerous to let go of that right now, especially if she truly has a vampire on her side.”

     Buffy was still unsure, but she recognized Giles' point. They were utterly alone in this world, stranded without a single familiar face. They had already made a powerful enemy, and they only had one source of information so far. It wouldn't do to alienate her and her vampire friend, no matter how reluctant Buffy was to trust a vampire.

     With reluctance, she nodded, relaxing her tensed posture. “Fine,” she told Graverobber. “Tell me why I shouldn't dust you.”

     The vampire grinned, almost mockingly. “Finally. Took you long enough, Slayer.” Buffy resisted the urge to lob her stake at his heart. He stepped past Rena, reaching out a hand for Buffy to shake. Reluctantly, warily, she took it. With a grin, he told her, “It's a bit of a long story.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry about the wait, I had some writer's block issues, and then I wasn't happy with part of this chapter, so I consulted with my cousin (the designated Buffy expert) to fix it. She really helped me out with this one, which was awesome of her. ^^
> 
> Anyway, I'm satisfied with the chapter now. Unfortunately, I thought I'd be able to fit more in, so I might need to add an extra chapter, but ah well.
> 
> So yeah, I made Graverobber a vampire in this 'verse. It really seemed to fit him. Really pale skin, slightly creepy (but awesome), hangs around graveyards and corpses all day, we only ever see him at night (granted the movie only takes place at night but still)... And plus, if he's older than he appears, it also helps explain why he seems to know so much about GeneCo and the Repo Man.
> 
> More explanation about how Graverobber came to be a vampire later, and we'll finally get to the movie's events. I'll try to update sooner this time.


End file.
